The Hidden Prince
by Just Anny
Summary: Perseus had escaped from the Romans and the prince of Greece had been on the run ever since. Though, with the Romans searching for him and his friends traveling with him, unknown secrets were yet to be uncovered. How could Percy avenge his dead family, if he couldn't even trust his friends and they couldn't trust him.. AU; set during the Roman Empire. SEQUEL OF THE HIDDEN GLADIATOR
1. Prologue: Going to Greece

**Summary: **Perseus had escaped from the Romans and the prince of Greece had been on the run ever since. Though, with the Romans searching for him and his friends traveling with him, unknown secrets were yet to be uncovered. How could Percy avenge his dead family, if he couldn't even trust his friends and they couldn't trust him...

**Disclaimer: **PJO and HoO belong to the troll named Rick Riordan...

* * *

**Prologue: Going to Greece**

Finding reasons to travel

_"Mommy! Mommy! Look!", the 7 year old girl stretched her arm, so her mother could see the tooth in her hand. With the other hand, she pointed at the new hole that had appeared in her mouth. _

_The woman smiled at her daughter as she walked into their home, but it wasn't a happy smile. The girl could see a certain kind of sadness in her mother's eyes as she walked toward her. Her mother squatted in front of her daughter and hugged her. _

_"Mommy? What's wrong?", the girl asked confused, sensing that something was wrong. "Did something happen?"_

_Her mother broke the hug and kissed the girl's forehead. "I'm sorry, my dear", she started, "but the king has asked me to go to Athene. I'll be leaving tomorrow."_

_The girl frowned. "But... why?"_

_"Just to check out some things over there, my dear, so don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to me, or you. People will take good care of you while I'm away, I'll make sure of that."_

_Her daughter bit her lip, but nodded. She knew that she couldn't stop her mother from going. That, she had learned from all the times her mother had had to go away. But that didn't mean she liked it. "When will you be back, mommy?"_

_Her mother smiled. "I'll be back in two weeks", she said as she hugged the 7 year old girl. _

_Two weeks later, her mother didn't come back..._

Annabeth opened her eyes and sat up straight, her hands covering her eyes as she cried. It had been years since she had had such a dream about her mother's death. She'd pushed it away while working for Thalia. Could it be that she had this dream because she didn't have that distraction anymore? She sighed and walked out of her tent.

She looked up at the nightly sky and remembered how Thalia used to look up longingly at the stars when they were in sight. It had always bothered Annabeth why she would do that, since she never liked not knowing things.

The blonde sighed. She knew she wouldn't find the answer any time soon. The last couple of days, their group had been heading toward Greece, but even she didn't know why. That boy, Livius, had insisted to go there and surprisingly enough, Nico had agreed with him. Annabeth knew that they wouldn't find Thalia there - she knew her best friend far too much - and didn't want to go with them

Though, they were fugitives and somehow, their names and faces had been found out. Now, it was too dangerous for them to travel alone, so Annabeth had no choice but to stick with the group.

It was still hard to move around, though, while half of the group was still recovering from their wounds. Everyone needed all the rest they could get, especially Livius. Even if he said that he was okay, Annabeth could see him flinching from the pain when the others didn't look. Definitively _not _okay.

She walked toward the lake, but stopped in her tracks as she saw someone sitting at the edge of the lake. Silently, she pulled out her dagger and walked toward the man. Just when she was about to attack him, he looked at her. Grey and sea-green eyes locked.

Sighing, she put her dagger away. "What are you doing here, Livius?"

Livius smiled at her, before looking at the water again. "I can ask the same of you..."

Annabeth shrugged. "Couldn't sleep", she said before sitting next to him. "How about you?"

"Same", a long silence followed, though it was not awkward. Annabeth stared in front of her, already lost in thought. She remembered how broken she was when her mother had died. But that wasn't what bothered her now... It was that the only information she got about her mother's dead was that she was killed by a Greek. Who, how or why, nobody had told her.

When she'd asked those questions, they either couldn't tell her or wouldn't tell her. For a long time, she had wanted to find out what had happened with her mother, but hadn't been allowed to investigate.

As if someone was keeping her away from the truth.

But now they went to the country where her mother had died. What if she would be able to find some details about her mother's death? A question came into her mind from that thought and she looked at Livius again. "Why do you want to go to Greece? What is there that makes you want to go there so bad?"

Livius seemed startled by the questions, but soon regained his posture. He looked at Annabeth as if he was trying to make out if he could trust her or not. When he made his decision, he looked back at the lake. "While being captivated, I became friends with a Greek. He told me that there were still people who served the Greeks - not the Romans. If we can find them, maybe they could help us."

This made Annabeth frown as another question came up. "Help us with what?"

Livius stood up and whisked the dirt from his clothes. "With getting our revenge", he said before he walked away to his tent, leaving Annabeth behind, still frowning from his explanation.

* * *

**[A/N]: Here's the prologue of the Hidden Prince! Since this is the sequel of my other story, the Hidden Gladiator, I _strongly_ suggest you should read that first... But seeing how smart you people are, I believe you already know that ;D**

**So about this story... The main couples are Percabeth (finally!), Jasper and Thalico... Just fluff, no _other _things ;P Other thing is that this will contain character deaths. The main character is still Percy, but the POV changes from time to time (a lot xD). For instance, this chapter was Annabeth's POV. That's why I called Percy 'Livius', since Annabeth obviously doesn't know his real name (yet).  
**

**I hope you'll enjoy this story and that you've enjoyed this chapter ;D If you have anything to ask me, you can PM or mail me (my mail address is on my profile page). Extra information you can find on my profile as well ;) Please review if you want to make a writer happy ;)**

**'Till next time ^^**

**Xx Anny**


	2. Chapter 1: The Search

**Chapter 1: The Search**

Follow tracks and setting traps

Thalia shivered from the cold and shifted her body into a position that she hoped was more comfortable. Again though, a sharp rock prevented her from falling asleep. She felt rain dripping on her face and grunted. Thalia had hoped to be dry for the night in this cave she had discovered earlier this day, but apparently she had been wrong.

It had been a week since she had been banished from Rome and her titles had been removed from her. A week since she had had to survive in the woods with only a limited amount of food and clothes.

Figuring she wouldn't be able to sleep, Thalia stood up and sat against one of the walls. She pulled her sack toward her and grabbed an apple, the last piece of food from her former home that she had been able to take with her. After looking at it for a while, she took a bite out of it.

Since she hadn't had that much food with her in the first place, she was surprised that she'd lasted so long with the food. She was sure that her body-weight had decreased a lot, though. But with the food she got from the hunting, she couldn't complain much. Water, though, had been a problem at first. Now, she even knew a lake with sweet water.

All by all, she had grown accustomed to living in the woods. The only things that bothered her now, were her lack of sleep and the fact that she was alone all the time. Thalia took a last bite from her able, before throwing it away. There went her food-supply. _May it rest in peace..._ She knew that she would have to hunt tomorrow, but now all she could think about was sleeping.

She leaned back on the rock and when she finally was in a comfortable position, she felt her eyelids dropping. Before she fell asleep, though, she heard a voice. "Is anyone here?"

Shocked by the sudden sound, Thalia opened her eyes. When she didn't feel her bow near her, she cursed behind her breath. Then, she looked at the intruder and frowned. It was too dark to see who was there, but somehow she had the feeling she knew that voice. "Who's there?", she asked warily.

Thalia heard the person gasp. "Thalia, is that you?"

"Who are you?", Thalia asked again, "how do you know me?"

"It is you!", the person ran toward her and hugged Thalia.

She frowned, but suddenly her eyes widened. She knew this person. "Zoë?" Thalia could feel Zoë nodding on her shoulder and she returned the hug. "How are you here?", she asked confused.

"I thought I could take shelter in this cave when I saw it. I didn't think I would actually find you here... Oh, Thals, you have no idea how glad I am now that I know that you're save", Zoë explained, before breaking the hug. Then, she frowned. "What happened to you?"

Thalia frowned too. "What do you mean?", she followed Zoë's gaze to her shoulder. Now, she realized what Zoë meant. "Oh, you mean this cut?"

The girl before her nodded and gritted her teeth. "If one of those _boys _did this... Oh, I swear...", she threatened, but Thalia held both of her hand up and chuckled.

"There's no need for that Zoë. It's just from when I was running too fast yesterday. I tripped and my shoulder was cut by a bough as I fell. No need to worry", Thalia laughed as she saw Zoë relaxing her shoulders at that, "Now, let's talk about what happened..." Oh, how glad she was that she wasn't alone anymore.

* * *

Zeus clenched his hands in frustration as he thought about the last couple of days. His men had been searching for Poseidon's spawn and his little _group _for days now, but still they came back with nothing. This morning though, he'd heard that they were heading east. Now, Zeus already had an idea about where they were heading: Greece.

Perseus Jackson. He had known of his existence since his birth and had been surprised once he'd heard the young Greek had survived the attack in Athene. The king had been searching for young Perseus for years now, not knowing his appearance. Why would he show up years later in Rome? And as a slave...

But he already knew the answer. Zeus knew the boy wanted his throne. After all, that would be the perfect payback for Zeus taking over Greece. The boy was a dangerous threat of this kingdom because of heritage, so he needed to be annihilated. If only his men would be able to find him and his group. "I don't want your excuses, Mars, I want you to find them _now_", Zeus demanded.

Mars gritted his teeth. "As I told you, _my lord_, we are unable to. The area is too big; they could be anywhere."

"They are heading to Greece", Zeus told him, "take as many men as you like and search the area. They can't be far with so many people. Burn villages to the ground, for all I care, just find them and _kill _them."

Mars clenched his fists, but nodded. He turned to leave, but stopped in his tracks as Zeus called for him. "Don't hold information back, Mars. I know that your son is with them, but you can't help him. You know what happens to traitors", the king warned him.

The man nodded and walked out of the throne room, leaving Zeus behind. The king of Rome was just about to leave, when a voice stopped him. "Well, well... I didn't think you would be so desperate to find them, _my lord_."

Zeus turned to the blonde and scowled at him. "What are you doing here, _Octavian_?"

The man in question ignored him and walked toward the king. "Now, I wonder why you're so desperate", he continued, "sure, they'd destroyed some buildings, killed some soldiers and rescued some slaves, but that wouldn't make the _great king_ so anxious to find him... You don't want to lose your power and someone in that group can make you lose it, am I wrong?"

Zeus narrowed his eyes at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Now, don't play dumb with me. My _resources _are extremely reliable, so I know that what I just said was true. But what keeps me thinking, though, is how everyone react will react when I tell them of your failures..."

"You're playing dangerous games here, Octavian. Do not test me..." Octavian just smirked and walked out of the throne room.

Zeus scolded himself for being so careless after he'd calmed down. He knew that Octavian was bluffing about the failure-part, trying to test him, and Zeus had gone straight into his trap.

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**[A/N]: 2 chapters in one day! ;D I hope you liked them ;). I'm surprised by all the responses of the last chapter :O And that in just 4 hours ;3 So, I thought I would make another chapter for you all, as some sort of reward haha ;D**

**To Di Blythe: **Good evening! ;P I'm glad you love it, my friend :) And yes, I update rather fast :O Love uuu xx

**To krasni: **Of course there will be Percabeth romance :) And one of the main mysteries in this story is what had happened to Athena, so you're asking the right questions, haha ;P I'm not going to answer them, though... You'll just have to find out ;)

**To Athena'sOwl36: **Yeah! It was about time ;P

**To knightsky17: **Wow, thanks for the tip :D I'll try to think about it while writing the chapters... I hope that this way I'll improve my writing ;D Again, thanks ;D These kind of reviews truly make me happy :)

**'Till next time ^^**

**Xx Anny**


	3. Chapter 2: Signs of Betrayal

**Chapter 2: Signs of Betrayal**

A lack of loyalty

Percy stretched his body as he stood up. Dark bags were under his eyes, indicating his lack of sleep. It had been a long time since he had gotten a good night sleep. It had gotten even worse since last week. The images of Luke dying by his hands still haunted him in his nightmares, even if he had killed before that. It was as if his life was the first innocent one he had taken. He knew that wasn't true, though.

He could remember the death of his parents well, especially his mother's. He knew for certain that Luke was the one that killed his mother, but Percy couldn't help but think that there was more to it than it seemed.

_Tell Thalia I'm sorry... _Luke's last words were the only sounds he heard in his nightmares. Not the screaming, nor the fighting sounds, only those words. It was as if only those words mattered to him. What had happened between those two?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of swords clashing with each other. He frowned and walked out of his tent. At first, he couldn't see what had caused the sounds, but as he looked at his right, he saw Nico and Clarisse sparring. He rolled his eyes and walked toward them.

Nico noticed him first and smirked. "Good morn -", he was interrupted by Clarisse slashing at him with her sword. "-ing", he finished, while blocking the attack. "What was that for?!", Nico asked Clarisse.

"That was for being distracted, punk."

Nico rolled his eyes and continued sparring with the brunette, while Percy just watched them. He leaned against one of the trees, but winced when a sharp pain went through his back. He didn't change his position, though, and hoped nobody had seen him wincing. He realized he didn't have such luck, when he heard a voice behind him. "You should rest, you know. Those wounds aren't healed yet."

Percy turned and saw Annabeth looking at him with her arms crossed. He gave her a weak smile and walked toward her. He was just about to say something, when a loud voice interrupted them. "They're here!"

Travis and Connor, who were on border patrol (to insure that they weren't stealing things from other tents), ran toward them with a pair of soldiers running behind him. Annabeth rolled her eyes and pulled out her knife. More soldiers started to appear all around them and Percy realized they were surrounded. He cursed behind his breath in Greek and pulled out his own sword - the one that he still had from fighting in the Colosseum.

The soldiers didn't attack though, but seemed to wait for the others to join Annabeth and Percy. When everyone was there, Percy felt a strong urge to just attack the soldiers, but Annabeth held him back. He looked at her questioningly, but Annabeth didn't say anything to him. Instead, she addressed the soldiers. "Where is you superior?"

For a while, no one answered. Until a man in golden armor stepped forward. He held a great amount of authority, though Percy didn't know who he was, until Frank muttered something next to him. "Father..." Percy frowned and widened his eyes soon after. Earlier, he had heard from Frank that his father was one of the generals of Rome; Mars. _But why would a general be out here in the woods?_

"Why are you here?", Annabeth asked the man, who was just smiling at them. She was probably thinking the same thing as Percy, he realized. "Clearly not to kill us, otherwise we would already be dead." Percy raised an eyebrow at that.

Mars just kept smiling. "I have a proposition for you."

* * *

Jason rolled his eyes at Leo's antics and kept eating, totally ignoring Leo's cries for help when he sat next to him. "Please, Jace... At least give me one chance to talk to Reyna. She just won't talk to me!", he threw his hands in the air in exasperation, "and I know she's all over me and my hotness..."

When Jason finally finished his meal, he looked at his best friend. He could see the desperation in his eyes and sighed. "You know how Reyna is. She's rejected you five times already... You have absolutely no chance with her." It was a bit harsh, but it was the truth.

Leo pouted and left the table again. When Jason saw he was approaching Reyna again, he rolled his eyes. _He just won't learn_...

He also left the table and went to the throne room. He still had to talk to his father about the recent events. But just when he was about to open the door, he heard voices from inside the room. One of them, he realized, was his father's. He leaned his back against the door and tried to hear what the voices were saying.

"- eard of them?", his father asked.

"Not yet, my lord, but we're working on it"

"Work harder!", Jason could hear the anger in his father's voice, "I want Mars here, _now_. He will pay for this treachery." This made the prince frown. Mars was one of the highest respected generals of Rome - not as influential as Atlas, but still - so why would he commit treason? It made absolutely no sense.

"Will be done, my lord", the second voice said. He could hear somebody walking toward the door, as a sign that the other person was leaving the room. Jason looked for a place to hide and saw another door. He ran toward it, opened the door and entered the room. He leaned against the closed door and heard the footsteps going more and more silent. When he knew that he was safe, he looked inside the room.

What he saw made his blood boil in anger.

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**[A/N]: This was by far one of the worst chapters until now (plus one of the shortest) xD (we've only had 2 chapters before, but still...) I just hope you all looooveeeee the cliffy ;P I'd planned to update this story this weekend, but since I was sick until now, I didn't have much concentration to write this... Sorry for that ;)**

**To awesomeness: **Well, hi! ;P I'm glad you liked it ;) Thanks for the review!

**To 8EternallyMortal8: **Here's the next chapter ;) And sorry for the rather late update (for my doing xD) (; Hope you liked this chapter ;)

**To fantomfare: **Thank you! And I try my best to keep everything original, though it is hard... I just hope that people will enjoy my stories and I'm glad you did ;D So, thanks for the review!

**'Till next time ^^**

**Xx Anny**


	4. Chapter 3: Hunting for War

**Chapter 3: Hunting for War**

What you would do to reach your goals

Percy saw Frank narrowing his eyes at the man before them. "What are you talking about, _father_?", Percy could sense the hate underneath Frank's words. _What could have happened between those two? _The more he asked himself that, the more he realised that he actually knew nothing about his companions. But then again, they knew nothing about him either.

Mars narrowed his eyes at his son, too. "You do not speak that tone to me, young man. You know I've saved your life many times. Be glad I'm willing to help you now, since you did nothing in return."

Frank gritted his teeth, but before he could give a nasty reply that would surely escalate into a fight that wouldn't end well, Annabeth interrupted them. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but what do you mean with helping us, general Mars?" How she learned to talk so diplomatic, Percy didn't know, but it sure was helpful. At least this way they wouldn't get in a shouting match.

The general turned to Annabeth. "Exactly as I said it. I'm going to help you with not getting caught by soldiers." Percy narrowed his eyes at the general, just like Frank. He didn't trust the guy one bit. But then again, they did need help. He looked at Annabeth, could see her brains cracking as she thought of every possibility and smiled. He loved it when she became like this. _Wait. Loved?! _

"What's the catch?", Annabeth asked, interrupting Percy's mental frustration. "Helping us would mean helping fugitives. That's committing treason. Why would you, one of the great generals of Rome, risk your title for us?"

He smiled, as if he knew that she would ask that question. "Annabeth Chase, you're so much like your mother. Always wanting to know more than what's good for you", Annabeth narrowed her eyes at that, clearly angry that he dared to talk about her mother. Percy didn't know who she was or what had happened to her, but clearly it was a sore subject. _Mental note: never mention Annabeth's mother. _

"Just answer my question", Annabeth pushed, while clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. He could almost see a grey aura of anger around her. _  
_

Mars still smiled. "Alright then, daughter of Athena, I'll tell you why: I want you to start a war. As simple as that."

"Why?"

"Isn't that obvious? Zeus' actions are killing Rome from the inside and outside. The only way to save Rome, is to make sure that his reign will come to an end and seeing how eager he is to find your little group, you are able to do that. If you get killed, Rome would be lost."

"How are we able to do such a thing?", Michael spoke up.

"You can ask that to the slaves you rescued, since the king demanded me to kill one of them, just before you all created that chaos. Now, do we have an agreement, or not?" Annabeth agreed to Mars' words, even so reluctantly. Others just grumbled a 'yes', or just said nothing, like Frank and Percy, who was still thinking about Mars' words. It was probably him that Zeus wanted to kill. _Great... _

Mars nodded and smiled. "Alright then. I'll leave 10 soldiers with you on your journey to Greece and I'll return to Rome so no one will suspect my actions", after that, he left.

* * *

An arrow hissed through the air and pierced the deer's eye, killing the animal instantly. "Got it!", Thalia called out as she approached the dead animal. Zoë walked out of the bushes and smiled.

"Nice one, Thals. You've actually gotten better. I didn't know you got it in you", she said before taking out her hunting knife and removing the deer's skin. Thalia looked away when the smell reached her nose. Then, she realised something.

"So, you doubted my capabilities?", Thalia narrowed her eyes at her friend. Zoë realised what she had said, held up her hands - that were now covered with blood - and shook her head frantically. The former-princess cracked up at the sight, while Zoë just frowned at Thalia's reaction.

"Why are you laughing?" Thalia just shook her head, unable to answer Zoë's question. Oh, how she missed teasing Zoë...

A silver arrow pierced the tree next to Thalia's face and she stopped laughing. She looked at Zoë, who thought the same thing as she did, and reached for her bow. "Who's there?", Thalia called out. Her eyes scanned their surroundings until multiple people appeared. Surprisingly enough, they were all girls around their age and were all wielding weapons - a rare sight, but something that made Thalia smile inwardly. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

A girl around 20 years old walked forward. She had auburn hair and silver eyes, which made her look much more intimidating than someone of her age would look. The silver bow in her hands helped too, though. "I could ask you the same thing. Since this is our hunting territory, we should be the ones asking you that. Now, lower you weapons."

Reluctantly, they both did what she asked. Thalia knew they wouldn't win a fight against so many people. "My name is Thalia", she introduced, "and this is Zoë. Now, who are you?"

The 20 year old smiled at her words. "My name his Artemis and these are my hunters."

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**[A/N]: Chapter 3! First, I want to apologize it's so late :$ I just had so many ideas that I just had to work them out... I hope you all can forgive me *dodges rotten tomatoes* Sorry! **

**So, Artemis makes her appearance and I hope Mars' reason to help our little group is what would fit his character... I mean, Mars isn't Ares, but he's still the god of war... It's logical he would want war, right? Right?! ;P **

**To awesomeness: **A late happy Thanksgiving haha ;P We don't celebrate it here xD But I hope you liked this chapter ;)

**To Di Blythe: **Good morning :P I hope you liked this little chappie :D

**To 8EternallyMortal8: **That suspense is just part of the plan :P

**To Jay Madeleine Gryff**: I hope this one met your expectations ;) and I'm glad you liked the Hidden Gladiator :)

**Sorry that I can't react to all of your lovely reviews, since I'm kind of in a rush here xD Let me just say that I love you all and that I'm sorry about the cliffy of Jason ;)**

**'Till next time ^^**

**Xx Anny**


	5. Chapter 4: Frustrations and Trust

**Chapter 4: Frustrations and Trust**

Not knowing what to think anymore

As Mars had said, 10 soldiers remained at the campsite, but seeing glares everyone sent them, Percy knew that they wouldn't be accepted by the others. So, no introductions whatsoever. Not that Percy minded that, but the silence after the general's visit was killing him. Not only was everybody staring at those soldiers, but also at Nico, Hagan and him.

Percy knew that it had something to do with what Mars had said about Zeus wanting to kill him - even if the others didn't know that, he suspected that they all had an idea, especially Annabeth. Not that it wasn't logical that they would think that way, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Mars hadn't just said that because he wanted to inform them about it.

He sighed and walked away from his spot near the fire. The silence and the staring was getting on his nerves, so he figured it would be better if he would be alone. Even so, he could still feel the stares they were giving him behind his back.

Before he knew it, he was sitting on a rock and looking over the lake. The feeling that the water gave him, helped him relax. For as long as he could remember, water always had that effect on him. Even in the times from before the attack on Athene. A smile appeared on his face as he thought about the fights he had with his father about becoming the heir of Greece. Back then, he had always fled to the river near the palace, so he would be left alone.

At least everything was peaceful, back then. No fighting, no pain, no stabbing behind someone else's back... He sighed again and thought about what had happened earlier again. Not that he didn't appreciate the help, but it was pretty much forced upon them. If they had refused, Mars would've probably killed them, or taken them to the king. Annabeth had probably figured that out too, seeing how she had agreed so fast.

He still didn't trust her completely, though. Even if they didn't know anything about his past, he also didn't know anything about their's. How she had reacted when Mars had mentioned her mother, made him wonder about her past. Heck, he didn't even know why she would even help slaves like them.

"Didn't think I would find you here", Percy turned and looked at Frank, who was walking toward him. He gave him a small smile, before his gaze returned to the water in the lake. In the corner of his eyes, he could see Frank sitting next to him. "So, what's up?"

"Great way to start a conversation", Percy noticed, "but I'm fine, you?"

Frank shrugged. "I'm fine."

Percy sighed in the silence that followed. Just when he thought he would get rid of that killing silence, here it was again. So, he decided to kill the silence by asking the question that was on his mind ever since that conversation with Mars. "What happened between you and your father?"

"It's none of your business." And with that, Frank left, leaving a very frustrated Percy behind. He knew that the trust was completely gone now and he hated it.

* * *

Piper was finally done with cleaning up Jason's room, when said person ran into the room. Startled, Piper almost dropped the vase she had just cleaned. She turned to the prince and frowned. He looked pale, as if he had just seen a ghost, and was panting heavily. "What's wrong?" He grabbed her into a embrace, leaving Piper clueless about why her Jason was acting like this.

When he finally broke the hug, he surprised her by saying: "You have to get out of here." Piper's eyes widened, but before she could reply, he kissed her. The kiss was loving and sweet... and short. Before she could deepen it, Jason broke the kiss and searched frantically around the room.

"What are you doing? What's going on?", Jason finally looked at her, saw the confusion in her eyes and sighed.

"Like I said, you have to get out of here. It's not safe for you here", with that, he took a small blanket from his closet and put it in a bag. He muttered something about needing clothes. After taking Piper's hand, he took her out of the room with him. He started running, but Piper could stop him just in time.

"Come on Jason, tell me what's going on!", she demanded. "Why isn't it safe? Tell me something!" She was getting more and more frustrated by every second. She knew that something had happened with Jason that made him ask this way. And what was that about her not being safe here? As far as she knew, within the palace in Rome was probably the safest place on earth at the moment.

Jason finally stopped, probably knowing that Piper wasn't going anywhere if she didn't know the reason behind it. "They have been spying on us."

Piper frowned. "What do you mean?"

The prince sighed and pulled her into Thalia's old chambers, knowing nobody would be there. "Exactly as I said it. When I went into that room, I saw pieces of papyrus, which contained parts of our conversation. Like what you've told me about Nico and such..."

Piper's eyes widened, before she frowned. "Why is it not safe for me, then?", she asked, ignoring that she didn't know what he meant with 'that room'.

"Don't you see it?! After Thalia, they want me gone so there will be no heir to the throne. That's why they were spying on us; so that this information can be used against me."

"I still don't see what that has to do with me."

After Piper said that, Jason kissed her again. This time far more passionate, but still too short for Piper's liking. "I love you", he said after he broke the kiss. "But because of that, they will come after you, rather than me, since you're an easier target. You have to go, Pipes, otherwise they'll kill you."

* * *

**[A/N]: Chapter 4! Bit short and only a little bit late... Okay, it was REALLY late :'( I'm so sorry! I'm thinking about changing the amount of times that I update this story into once a week... I mean, I'm getting sick all the time, and the day after I'm all better... So, when I want to write, I'm sick and can't concentrate and when I have the time for writing, I don't have inspiration or I'm occupied with some personal stuff at home...**

**Sigh... Anyway, Jason was totally freaking out D: I hope you liked it ;P **

**To Jay Madeleine Gryff: **Yeah, you're getting too far ahead ;P No swearing off boys, so don't worry ;)

**To fantomfare: **Don't forget the soldiers that Mars left behind... ;P Not spoiling anything :P But yeah, Mars is walking into a trap...

**'Till next time ^^**

**Xx Anny**


	6. Chapter 5: The Greek Inn

**Chapter 5: The Greek Inn**

A bad place for Romans to visit

It was night when they arrived at the city. It was small, in comparison to Athene or Rome, and Percy could feel the Roman taste that they had given the Greek city after conquering it. Even though that was the case, Percy felt more at home in this city than in any others he had visited. Except for Athene, of course.

"Let's find a place to stay", he said while turning to the others, who just nodded. He sighed. After their encounter with Mars, everyone had basically closed up to each other. He wondered if that had been the general's true intention. Even though those soldiers had been a great help while fighting off all those robbers earlier, Percy had no doubt that Mars was planning something. And that something wasn't just a war.

"What about that place?", Percy followed the direction of Connor's finger and found himself staring at a building that looked like it was an inn. They could hear loud music when they got nearer, even if most people would've been sleeping around this time.

Annabeth, who had naturally taken over the role of being their leader, nodded and walked toward the inn. Percy heard a few shouts in Greek before the door opened and a man was kicked out of the building. Clearly drunk, the man shouted a few curses while he _tried _to walk steadily toward his home.

They gave each other a few questioning looks. Percy saw Nico looking at him intently, as if trying to get Percy to explain what the man had said. Percy shook his head and followed Annabeth, who started to walk toward the inn again. When she opened the door, they were met with a stench that could only belong to pigs. Percy could see three men ogling one of the female waiter's ass and snorted. These men were definitively pigs.

Annabeth walked to the counter and tried to get the attention of the inn master, who was talking with one of his costumers. When he finally saw here, he walked toward the group and eyed them carefully.

"We are looking for rooms where we can stay the night", Annabeth said in Latin, which probably wasn't a good idea.

The man narrowed his eyes at her. "_Romans are not allowed in this inn. Get out_", he said in Greek while pointing at the door.

Annabeth, obviously not knowing Greek, frowned. "What did you say?"

"_I said, get out!"_, the man was getting angrier every second. Percy frowned. He knew that the man refused to speak Latin, which confused him. Even though they were in Greece, the country was still a part of the Roman Empire. Unless…

Percy looked at Nico, who had been looking at Percy since the conversation between Annabeth and the man had started. He sighed. They really needed a place to stay and since they were a rather large party, it was very difficult to get that. And revealing he was Greek, wouldn't say that much about his well-guarded secret. Percy walked to Annabeth and put a hand on her shoulder, making her turn to look at him. "Step back, I got this."

She frowned, but did what he said. Percy looked at the man and gave him a smile. _"I'm sorry for my friend. She doesn't know how to speak Greek." _The man gave him an intrigued stare, while he could feel his 'friends' glaring holes in his back. _"We are looking for a room."_

"_Why would I, young man? Even though you can speak my language, doesn't mean I would let you stay. As far as I can see, you and your friends are still Roman and Romans are not welcome here."_

_"Why won't you let Romans in?"_

_"They have done nothing good for this country. If I let you and your friends in, fights will definitively occur and I will lose my costumers. Now go, before I kick you out like I did with Gerces back there." _

Percy frowned and leaned over the counter. _"We are fugitives from Rome. Don't offend the gods for refusing our stay here." _Percy knew that Greeks were far more influenced by their faith. Most of the things that they did was to peace the gods, so their lands and families would get blessed by the gods in return. Refusing the gods would offend them, which could only lead to bad luck.

The man narrowed his eyes at them. _"You know nothing about our gods. After you Romans took over our country, you switched ours with your own. Leave or you won't see the light of the day again as you will be resting in the Underworld."_

Percy gritted his teeth and grabbed the man by his shirt, pulling him over the counter so he could whisper in his ears. _"I know everything about your gods, since they are mine as well."_

_"Then why are you traveling with those Romans? Not to mention that you have soldiers with you too, I see." _Percy turned his head, so that he could see the ten soldiers of Mars at the entrance – a few feet behind Hagan, who was the last one of their group – causing a ruckus to stir. There were already a few men walking there way.

_"As I said, we're fugitives. Leave those soldiers at the streets as they are not my friends, but the others will stay here with me if you let us"_, he said hastily. _"Kill the soldiers if you must." _Percy knew that this was a risk, but he had to take it. It was time to make decisions and he wasn't going to follow a Roman general such as Mars into battle.

The man hesitated and glanced at the soldiers who were already fighting with his costumers. Seeing that Percy's friends did nothing to help them, he made his decision. _"Come with me and take your friends. But I want to speak with you when you're settled. Alone." _

Percy nodded and gave the man a sack of drachmas, which he had stolen from those robbers earlier. He had been surprised at first when he had seen it, but figured he would have needed it later. That guess had apparently been right.

He followed the man to the back and gestured his friends, who were eyeing him suspiciously – except for Nico – to follow him. While he walked up the stairs, he could hear the fighting coming to an end.

* * *

**[A/N]: I have absolutely no excuse for updating so late and I'm truly sorry. Call it a writer's block or just plain laziness, I just couldn't write :$ So I'm deeply sorry! For everyone; a very happy 2014! I hope you've started the year better than I did, because I did absolutely nothing. I'm the worst xD I hope I haven't lost any readers because of my late update :$**

**So, I decided to take things up a nudge. The next chapter will also be entirely in Percy's POV, so no Thalia or Jason anytime soon. I'm sorry for the last chapter, Jasper fans *coughs* Di Blythe *coughs*... I'll make it up to you *grins***

**To awesomeness: **I'll try to use that tip, though I haven't in this chapter ;) I've basically written this chapter in a few hours, because I just wanted to update this story for you ;) I'll remind it for the next time though ;) Thanks ;)

**To fantomfaire: **No oath with Artemis ;) The Hunters of Artemis are in this story just a group of girls that want to prove that women can be greater fighters than men. Of course, they would despise men, but Artemis will not force Thalia to give up her loved one ;)

**To Super Grilled Girl (aka Di Blythe): **Love you too ;P I finally got to write again! *Cheers like she won the Olympics* I'm going to torture you by waiting until chapter 7 for some Jasper :D Got to love the power of the writer xD

**Thanks to everybody else who reviewed! I love you all (:**

**'Till next time ^^**

**Xx Anny**


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